And Destiny
by Majorrogue
Summary: Medieval AU - When a young villager meets a young princess everything changes. This story is written in a non-linear way and uses one word prompts for each little drabble, hopefully you'll like it! It is only 6 chapters long (chapter 6 is still being finished!). Originally posted on LJ in May 2011
1. Chapter 1 - Royals and Destiny

**Home**  
The first time I saw her I was just a child and so was she.

I'd been playing with boys from my street in the fields outside the village for most of the day. It was getting too hot and i was hungry, so I decided to go home, get some food and get clean.

When I got to the main street in the village there were crowds of people everywhere. I was small enough then that I could get through all the people and see what the fuss was about. When i got to the front of the crowd I saw the king on his white steed surrounded by guards on horseback, I wasn't all that bothered about seeing him, he was always riding through town to show off, but this time turned out to be different. This time he was being followed by his daughter. I'd never seen her before, there had been rumours that she had died as a baby, because she was never seen, but there she was following her father on horseback.

**Beautiful**  
I'll admit that even as a child i was mesmerised by her and her beauty.  
We were the same age and I remember my mother telling me stories about the celebrations when the king had his first child, my mother was just about to give birth to me, but still celebrated like everyone else.  
She still had to be the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She looked so pretty in her long white dress, she had small flowers in her long blonde hair and she was holding a small bouquet.  
As they rode down the main village street I followed, walking quickly along the front of the cheering crowd just staring at her. As I watched her I thought she looked nervous. If it was the first time she'd been in the village then all these people must have been scary. She was looking around a lot, looking at all the people cheering her and her father. Then my life changed forever, she turned and looked down at me. I smiled widely at her and she returned the smile and she waved at me, ME, no one else just me, I waved back. Unfortunately, I was so distracted by her and her smile that I didn't notice the loose cobble stones in the road and I tripped and fell unceremoniously to the ground. Just before she rode out of sight I looked up from the ground through the guards to see her giggling.

**Someday**  
Like a moth to a flame, I scrambled to my feet and ran after the royal convoy. I ran straight up to the castle gates just as they closed. Through them I could see the King and the Princess dismounting. I shouted at her and she turned to look at me. I didn't really know what to do so I just waved again. Then an idea came to me  
"Do you want to come and play?" I shout through the iron gate. She smiled and turned towards me more, but her father took her hand and pulled her towards the castle. She pointed towards me but her father shook his head.  
I heard laughing and a large hand grabbed my shoulder.  
"Do you really think a princess is going to play with a dirty street kid?" one of the guards laughed. He pushed me away from the gate  
"Go on, go home and play with your pet rat" another guard laughed.  
"Get off me, you big lump!" I shouted kicking at him, but missing.  
"You'll be lucky if you ever see her again, let alone play with her. Now scram!" he pointed his lance at me and I turned and walked back to the street.  
I turned to face the large intimidating castle, it had always been there, dominating the village and surrounding countryside, but I'd never really thought about it before. But right there and then I decided that someday I would be on the other side of those walls, and I would definitely see the princess again.

**Time**  
"How do you get inside the castle?" I asked my father  
"Inside? I'd have thought the gates would be a good starting point!"  
"No, I mean… like… to work there"  
"I don't think you're maid material, do you?" He said  
"She most definitely is not maid material" My mother added smiling while cooking dinner  
"There must be loads of different people who work in the castle?" I asked  
"Yes, there are hundreds, servants, cooks, nobles, guards, stable boys…." My mother answered  
"Why do you ask, little one?" Father asked  
"I've decided I'm going to work in there"  
"You are better than that, Santana" Father said seriously  
"What's better than working for the King and Queen?" I asked  
They both paused to think "You're right, there isn't much better I suppose, but if that's what you truly want at least use the skills you have naturally"  
"What are they?" I asked  
"You are very physical; you enjoy running and fighting with your brothers…."  
"I'm going to be Captain of the guard!" I shouted interrupting my father. If I was captain of the guard I'd have to protect her and see her all the time. It would be perfect!  
They both looked at me, my mother shrugged and turned back to the food she was preparing  
"Things like that take time, little one" My father said and he was right. You had to be at least 16 before you could sign up to be in the guards and then you had years more training.  
If I had to wait 7 years before I could join I was going to use those 7 years to be the best recruit they had ever seen.  
Next to the fields where we played there was a high wall that the guards would train behind. I decided I would climb that wall every day and watch them train. If I could do all of what they did before I even joined, I would be captain of her guard in no time.

**Light**  
She hadn't noticed the sounds of a sword fight until she watched the sun set over the village from her room. It was too late in the day for sword practice she thought, how could they see what they were doing? She decided to go and find out.  
It didn't take her long to walk to the training ground from her rooms and she didn't rush. She enjoyed slowly walking around the castle and its ground watching as people went about their business, it was even better when they didn't notice her. She could watch them act normally when they were unaware of her, but as soon as she was noticed they would bow and be on guard, careful of what they said and did.

The training ground was a large square covered in sand; the outsides were a little elevated from the sand and were surrounded by a covered walk way where people could watch what was happening. This late in the evening it had five or six large braziers to light the ground. In the middle she saw two figures fighting, both had swords and shields and were both wearing some sort of protective clothing.  
"Princess"  
"Sergeant Beiste" Brittany greeted "It's a little late for practice isn't it?"  
"Not for these two, princess, they're determined"  
"Oh?"  
"EVANS! LOPEZ!" The sergeant called and pointed in front of where they were standing. They both stopped mid fight.  
Brittany wasn't expecting the shout and cringed a little at the sudden sound, but she quickly forgot about it when she saw who was jogging towards her.  
Brittany recognised her instantly, she hadn't changed much since that day in the village. Brittany had thought about her many times since she had seen the mysterious girl in the crowd.

She didn't realise she was staring as the two fighters approached, both of them realising at the same time that the Princess was standing next to their sergeant. The blonde lowered his eyes as he knelt before her, but the dark haired woman seemed to falter and stared a little before also kneeling. They both laid their swords and shields on the ground and stood when Beiste started to introduce them.  
"This is Samuel Evans and Santana Lopez, my Lady, they are the best recruits I think we've ever had"  
"Really?" Brittany said absent mindedly as she stared at Santana  
"Yes, they practice far too often and all that training has made them both hard to beat"  
"Will you both be entering the upcoming Royal Tournament then?"  
"Yes, My Lady" they both answered in unison  
There was silence for a moment  
"I should hope so…" beiste started but instantly stopped talking as the princess addressed Santana  
"You always seem to be covered in dirt when I see you" she said softly and smiled, there was silence, the words seemed intimate and neither Beiste nor Sam knew what was meant by it.  
"Yes, majesty" Santana replied never taking her eyes off the princess  
Brittany reached out her hand and softly touched Santana's chin moving her face to the left  
"And you also seem to have hurt yourself again" she said after observing the black eye Santana was sporting.  
"It is nothing majesty, just a minor distraction" Santana said, amazed that she could actually speak after being this close to the princess and now also being touched by her. She hoped it didn't show in her eyes.  
Brittany smiled, released her hand and turned and walked away, they all watched her in amazement. As she walked away she turned "Maybe you should be more careful" her face bright with a cheeky smile. She knew it wasn't proper royal etiquette to touch subjects, but she found she couldn't help herself.

**Glory**  
People would come from across the country to attend the Royal Tournament. It was a time of celebration for the village. Santana had always looked forward to watching it as a child, she could never actually get in and sit in the stands but you could see most of what was going on from the hill to the side of where the tournament was held.

But now here she was getting ready for her first match. As she walked towards the royal box she found the cheering crowd almost overwhelming. They could see that she was a local girl from her tunic which covered her chain mail and they let everyone know it.  
She stood in front of the royal box next to her opponent, a man about her age but taller and with a tribal Mohawk. In front of her stood the King with the Queen sitting to the right of his throne and the two princesses sitting to the left. She made eye contact with Brittany and smiled, the princess returned the gesture with a shy smile of her own.  
The King lifted his arms to quiet the crowd. The crowd went silent and the two combatants bowed  
"Tell us who you are and what you fight for" he commanded  
"My name is Puckerman and I fight in the name of my tribe" The man said pumping his fist in the air and a small cheer came from the crowd  
"I am Santana Lopez and I fight for the glory of the King and his family" she looked at Brittany when she said the last part. A roar erupted from the crowd, but she wasn't finished "and for the favour of Princess Brittany" she looked directly at her again. The king turned to his daughter, somewhat surprised by this. Brittany looked at her father smiling and nodded  
"So be it" The king announced "combatants take your positions"

**Blue**  
Before she moved to the centre of the arena Santana moved closer to the Royal box. Brittany had come to the edge and leant over the barrier, in her hand she had a long piece of blue material. Santana reached up to take the favour but before she could, Brittany brought it to her lips and kissed it.  
Santana's heart skipped a beat, she thought Brittany would be angry with her for such a public show of her affection, but to have Brittany repay it was more than she was expecting. She reached up and instead of just taking the favour she took Brittany's hand and slowly took the ribbon from it.  
"My Lady" Santana said and bowed  
"My champion" Brittany said lowering her head and then returning to her seat to watch the fight.  
Santana took the blue ribbon and tied it around her arm as she made her way to the centre of the arena and stood opposite her tribal opponent.

**Always **  
Santana woke to the feeling of fingers softly running over the skin of her rib cage, she opened her eyes to see Brittany lying next to her. She was watching her own fingers slowly trailing over a long scar on Santana's body.  
"Hey, that tickles" she said quietly  
Brittany looked up at her and smiled from her lower position on the bed  
"I hate the thought of you getting hurt" Brittany said looking back at the scar  
Santana put her hand over Brittany's "It's my job to get hurt so that you don't and that's how it will always be" she looked down at Brittany who wouldn't make eye contact, instead she leant closer to Santana and rested her body against her.  
"You don't have to be nervous, you'll do fine"  
"How can I not be nervous? Everything is going to change after today"  
"Yes, but for the better, think of all the things you will achieve"  
There was silence for a while, then Brittany gripped Santana tighter  
"I miss him" She said quietly  
"I know" Santana put her arms around her and hugged her tightly, pulling their naked bodies as close as she could and kissed the top of her head.

They stayed like that for quite a while, silently preparing themselves for the day. Their silence was suddenly interrupted as Brittany's mother stormed into the room.  
"Oh my goodness! What on earth do you think you are doing?" She practically screamed  
Brittany quickly grabbed the sheets to cover them both  
"Mother! Do you mind?"  
"Do I mind?" she rolled her eyes "I'm assuming you know what day it is, yes?" she asked with her hands on her hips  
"Yes, of course I do"  
"Then I suggest you get out of bed and get ready. For goodness sake, you get crowned Queen today"


	2. Chapter 2 - The Villager and Destiny

**Run**  
'But why can't I go and play father?' I asked  
'Because she's a filthy villager, I won't have you mixing with children like that' Father said pulling on my arm.  
I was so annoyed that I angrily pulled my arm free and ran into the castle pushing guards out of the way.  
He never let me do anything I wanted to do. I'd just spent most of the day sitting in the village's large church while some man in strange clothes talked and talked and talked.

I ran up the stone staircase until I got to the floor my rooms were on and I ran as fast as I could down the corridor. I slammed the large wooden door behind me and leant against it trying to catch my breath. I then ran to one of my windows to look out onto the village to see if I could still see the girl who wanted to play with me. To my surprise I could, she had just crossed the castles bridge back into the village. I watched her as she walked along the row of shops that faced the castle. She looked fed up and was kicking stones along the road, but as I watched her a group of kids approached her and they all ran off together.  
That day changed my life. It changed how I saw the people in the surrounding village. There were children out there like me, who just wanted to play and there was a girl out there, who I didn't even know, who wanted to play with me. I decided that day that I would find that girl and be her friend.

**Red**  
My father was so angry with me that he left the room so red I thought he might start a fire. My mother paced in front of my bed where my father had placed me.  
'What were you thinking? Running out of the castle like that, so late at night. Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?'  
I didn't answer I just watched her, I could tell she was angry too but she wasn't as scary as the King when she was angry. She looked at me waiting for me to say something, I still didn't. She sighed, put her hand on her tummy and rubbed it (it was so big the baby would probably come soon) and she sat down next to me and pulled me into a hug.  
'I'm not angry little one, I'm just glad you are safe. But why did you dress in boys clothes, get all dirty and leave the castle?'  
'I wanted to find her'  
As I said that my nurse rushed into my room  
'Find who?' my mother asked  
'Oh, you aren't still thinking about that girl are you? Is that what this is all about' my nurse said  
'What girl is this?' my mother asked looking at her  
'Last week a child from the village asked the Princess if she wanted to play and she has been talking about her ever since, I'm sorry your majesty, if I'd thought for one second she would do something like this…'  
My mother raised her hand to stop her  
'That's alright Miss Pillsbury, I don't think any of us would have thought this would happen' she turned to me, but I spoke before she could  
'All I wanted to do was find the only person who has actually WANTED to play with me, without being told to or made to because I'm a Princess' I had started shouting and crying through frustration. 'Why can't I just play like a normal girl? Why can't I go and run in the fields like the other children do?' I rolled onto my bed and cried into my sheets, I felt my mother rubbing her hand on my back.

**Watch**  
She would never say she was a sneaking kind of person, but her heart was pounding as she effectively snuck into the training ground and sat on one of the stone benches around the outside. She had a book with her just in case she was asked why she was there, she could hardly say she was there because she was drawn to one of the recruits like a moth to a flame.

She watched as all the new recruits sat in front of Sergeant Beiste as she explained something about an axe she was holding and swinging around. Brittany wasn't paying any attention to what was being said, she was far too busy trying to find Santana in the crowd. All thoughts of where she was disappeared when she saw her, she was sitting near the front next to the Blonde she was with last time Brittany saw her. He was whispering something to her and she had turned her head towards him but did not take her eyes off of Bieste, She smiled widely and laughed a little. Brittany took in how beautiful this stranger was, she had never felt this way about anyone before, the thought that she was a villager and would be part of the royal guard hadn't crossed her mind, many would look down on her. But as Brittany watched all she could think about was speaking to her again.

The second day she watched them, she stayed on after nearly all the other recruits had left. She stayed to watch Santana and Samuel practice together for the Tournament that was only a week or so away. Half way through their session Beiste noticed the Princess and bowed, this got the attention of Santana and Samuel. They both stopped and also bowed, Brittany had a sudden rush of nerves as the fighters returned to their positions and she noticed Santana looking at her, she quickly looked at her book but then straight back to Santana as she heard the sound of their staffs hitting each other.  
Santana got more and more annoyed with herself as she fought her friend, she found herself too distracted by the Princess to concentrate fully and Sam was taking full advantage of it. As he swept her legs out from under her and she fell to the ground he lent over her.  
'I hope this isn't you trying to impress her' He said with a small laugh  
Santana's eyes narrowed in annoyance 'shut up' she snapped and jumped to her feet, quickly glancing towards the Princess who had a worried expression on her face.

As they started to spar again she was determined she would impress the Princess. They started circling each other, staffs held out in front of them. Santana feigned a strike to Sam's shoulder and as he moved to defend, she struck at his ribs causing him to double over. As he straightened up she raised her eyebrows at him and he knew he was in trouble.

Santana gave him no time to prepare himself as she came at him with a volley of strikes, he managed to defend all of them but in doing so lost his balance and fell backwards into the sand. Santana smiled down at him then turned and walked away, once again she looked at the Princess, this time she had a small smile on her face.

**Walk**  
'It is late again my Lady' Santana said as she leant down to pick up her equipment  
'It is' Brittany paused _this is it_ she thought 'Perhaps you would escort me back to my rooms?'  
Santana physically paused stuck in place 'Of course, my Lady' she said then gestured to Sam to take her equipment with him.

Although the barracks and the training areas were all in the walls of the castle, they were a fair distance from the living quarters and where the Royal family lived and there were many guarded doorways between the two that not everyone was allowed to go through.

There was a moment of silence as they both walked from the training ground trying to think of what to say. They knew what they wanted to say, but hundreds of years of protocol meant that no matter how much they wanted to say it they didn't. Although they could not speak of it, they both kept thinking of the touch that was shared between them.

'Is your training going well for the tournament, Lopez?' Brittany asked to break the silence, but not liking having to call her Lopez due to that old protocol  
'It is going very well, my lady'  
Silence again as neither of them knew what to say  
Brittany had been wondering something all week and decided she should try to find out for sure  
'So, you and Samuel… do you always spar together?' Okay so she couldn't just come out and ask if they were together, she was the heir to the throne after all, she couldn't broadcast her feelings to everyone.  
'Yes, majesty, since we were children'  
'Oh, you have known each other for some time then?' this might not be good Brittany thought, what would she do if they were together? 'Was he one of the children you were playing with that day?'

Santana knew instantly what 'that day' meant and she was still shocked and thrilled, the Princess remembered her from all those years ago and must have thought about her since then, as Santana had thought about the Princess.  
'Yes Majesty, we had been playing in the fields before I saw you'

Brittany tried to hide her smile at the answer, she was pleased that Santana had remembered that day and what she had been doing before they met. But it still wasn't clear what their relationship was.  
'Oh' she said  
'We have been like brother and sister since we were very young' Santana continued  
Brittany smiled to herself as they walked side by side down one of the many long corridors in the castle.

On the third night of walking the Princess back to the castle, Santana had mustered the courage to be less formal.  
'How was your day, My Lady?' she asked. Brittany seemed surprised by the question and had to think of how to answer, not many people asked her things like that.  
'It was the same as many days are, this morning I had a lesson in politics and strategy, that lasted until lunch, although it felt a lot longer' Santana laughed at this, which also surprised Brittany, she smiled and continued 'After lunch I had to sit through my father and his aides discussing the neighbouring kingdoms and the tribes on our borders'  
'Sounds….' Santana tried to think of the appropriate word to use that wouldn't offend the Princess  
'Boring' Brittany finished. Santana wasn't sure if she should laugh at the Princess saying what she was thinking. But as Brittany started to laugh Santana joined in. Neither of them noticed the strange looks they were getting from some servants and guards.  
When they had stopped laughing Santana asked 'What would you rather have done?' again this surprised Brittany, Santana actually sounded interested in what she had to say, and again Brittany had to think of an answer.  
'If I could do anything I would like to go into the village and look around and go to the fields' It's something she had wanted to do for many years.  
They had begun to slow their pace, as they had started doing, as they got closer to the Princesses rooms.  
'If you would ever like an escort to the village or fields I would be more than happy to show you around, my Lady' Santana said  
Brittany smiled widely 'Thank you, I may just keep you to that'  
'I hope you do' Santana said as they reached their destination  
'Good night My Lady, sleep well' Santana bowed  
'Thank you Santana, good night' Brittany said and entered her rooms  
It was the first the Princess had said her name and Santana had never heard it sound sweeter.

**White**  
Brittany felt herself blush a little as she walked across the Grand Hall towards where Santana and Sam were standing and watched as Santana took in what she was wearing. Her eyes slowly moved up from her feet all the way up her white dress, slowing slightly at the tight corseted bodice.

When she reached them they both bowed  
'I thought I should come over and congratulate you both on winning you contests' Brittany said looking at them both.  
'Thank you, My Lady' they both replied  
'Yours was very close Samuel' she said feeling Santana's eyes on her  
'Yes, I had a very good opponent, She must train as much as me' He said subconsciously looking around the banquet for his blonde opponent.

Everyone who participated in the tournament was at the banquet. People travelled from around the kingdom and some came from surrounding Kingdoms to show off their skills at the annual tournament. Everyone was in their finest clothes, Santana and Sam were both wearing brown trousers, with a loose white shirt and a tight dark brown leather waist coat and boot, all of the other off duty guards and trainees were wearing the same.

'All of that training paid off for you both though' Brittany said turning to Santana, taking in what she was wearing. 'You are well, after your match? You aren't hurt at all?'  
'Nothing that won't heal, My Lady' She smiled  
'Good' Brittany was a little worried after the intensity of her sword fight with the tribal man.

Throughout the evening Brittany had to mingle amongst the other participants, trading pleasantries with representatives from surrounding Kingdoms, but found she would keep searching out Santana in the crowd. They occasionally make eye contact and smiled at each other.

Later Santana handed the Princess a glass of wine, Brittany looked down at the glass and noticed Santana had taken the favour she had given her earlier in the day and wrapped it around her wrist. Before she took the glass, Brittany brushed the favour with her fingers and smiled.  
'I think it gave me the edge' Santana lent forward and whispered slightly, Brittany blushed again and sipped her drink.  
Santana took a step even closer 'I don't know if anyone has told you, My Lady, but you look beautiful this evening' Brittany's smile nearly blinded Santana and she giggled with a little embarrassment.  
'You look very smart yourself' Brittany said reaching out and lightly trailing her hand down the shoulder of Santana's waist coat. They both smiled at each other shyly.

They were quickly brought back to reality though when they heard someone scream and a commotion coming from the left of them. Santana turned to see a man charging through the crowd towards them, as he got closer his hand reached for a sword, before they knew it the sword was drawn and held above the man's head ready to come down on the Princess. Santana moved quickly pushing Brittany back behind her as she stood between the Princess and her attacker. Before anything else could be done the sword was forcefully brought down.

For both Santana and Brittany time slowed, Brittany stumbled backwards and watched as Santana stood before the attacker as the sword came down, she heard a scream not realising that it was her own. As she saw Santana fall, a large blur blocked her view and she felt herself lifted off the ground, looking over the shoulder, of who she would later realise was Beiste's, she saw Santana laying on the floor not moving. She fought against the person under her but was just held tighter and was quickly bundled out of the Grand Hall and into another room surrounded by guards.

Santana stood unarmed between the woman she knew she loved and the man trying to hurt her, she didn't have time to do anything but try to twist out of the way as the man lowered the sword. She strangely didn't feel anything as she fell to the ground, but as she lay there wondering what had happened the pain kicked in. she clutched at her body and looked down to see her hands and arms covered in her own blood. She could hear lots of noise around her and saw Sam wrestling the man to the ground, then the tribal man, Puckerman, took over holding him down and placed his hand around the man's neck pinning him. The last thing she remembered was Sam's worried face.

**Away**  
'I don't want you to go'  
'And I don't want to go, but as the Captain of your guard I have to. If someone attacks your Kingdom, they attack you and you know I won't stand for that' Santana smiled sadly and gripped Brittany's hands tighter as they stood on the steps in the court yard.  
Brittany's eyes started to fill with tears.  
Santana let go of her hands 'My Queen' she bowed formally then reached out and lightly cupped Brittany's cheek 'My love' she said leaning forward and kissing her softly. As they parted she locked eyes with Brittany and whispered 'Everything will be fine'

Brittany took her hand again gripping it as Santana turned and walked down the steps to her waiting horse.  
As Santana and Sam rode out of the castle Santana turned to see Brittany wiping away tears.


	3. 3 The Princess, The villager and Destiny

**Hurt**  
"Let me go! LET ME GO!" she shouted as she was taken from the Grand Hall.  
The figure beneath her didn't stop and didn't reply. Brittany kicked her legs and pushed against the body under her to try to break free, but the grip on her was just tightened.

They entered a room and Brittany was rather unceremoniously thrown on a couch. She regained her senses quickly and rushed to her feet and moved towards the door. Beiste stepped in front of her blocking her way.  
"You can't go back in there, Princess" she said holding Brittany in place  
"I have to, she's hurt"  
"I know" Beiste said solemnly she didn't know what had happened to her favourite student either "But he came to attack **you**. I can't let you leave this room"  
"But… she's hurt…" Brittany couldn't find any other words as she pushed forward trying to get to the door. Beiste not moving out of her way.

"What's going on?" the King demanded as he and the queen and their younger daughter were brought into the room, they had been at the other end of the hall when they were quickly ushered out.  
"A man attacked the princess Sire. You ALL..." Beiste said pointedly looking at Brittany "have to stay in here" with that she quickly left to find out what was happening.

Seconds after Beiste had left Brittany ran to the door and pulled on it, it had been locked from the outside, she pulled again and again.  
"Open the door" she shouted "open the door" she pulled on it again  
"Brittany!" he mother shouted  
"I have to get back in there, he hurt her"  
"ENOUGH" her father shouted surprising all the women

**Pain**  
Brittany looked at Santana as she lay in front of her. The doctor had said she was awake and She could at last see the woman who had saved her life, but when she got to the room Santana was asleep.  
But since it had been 2 days since she was attacked she thought she would stay anyway just to be near her.

Santana was laying in one of the hospital beds covered in a blanket. Brittany desperately wanted to see under the blanket and at the wound that Santana had sustained, it must have been bad if she was only just being allowed visitors, but she knew she couldn't look or ask.  
Brittany moved the chair she was sitting in closer to the bed and reached out to take Santana's hand. She hesitated, royal etiquette meant she really shouldn't be holding a trainee guards hand, but over the last month or so she had fallen for Santana she didn't care about etiquette, she had to touch her.

She took Santana's hand in her own and just held it, thankful that she hadn't been killed.  
She had started absently rubbing her thumb on the back of Santana's hand when she was surprised  
"My Lady"  
Brittany turned to see a groggy looking Santana awake and smiling. There was silence for a minute as they both just looked at each other.  
"I..I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you" Brittany apologised  
"You didn't really…."  
Brittany shook her head, and opened her mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. She looked at Santana and then at their hands.  
"I…." she started "I… was so….. I was worried…." She sighed not knowing what to say or if she should say what she wanted to, but then she thought back on the last couple of days and knew she had to say it, after all she could have lost Santana without her even knowing how she felt about her.

She looked into Santana's confused and worried eyes "I was so worried that you …. That you were hurt… I mean, I know you were hurt, but I was worried you…..that you'd…" she didn't want to say it.  
Santana squeezed her hand reassuringly and that was all she needed. She quickly stood up, leaned over the bed and kissed Santana.  
The kiss didn't last long but as Brittany pulled away Santana leant forward to keep contact but soon realised sitting up was not an option at the minute as pain shot through her body.

Brittany sat back down blushing, as they looked at each other they both started to laugh slightly with embarrassment  
Santana smiled "I'm glad you did that first" she said "I was worried if I kissed you and you didn't feel the same I might be carted off to the stocks or gallows" she laughed slightly, but winced as the movement caught her wound again.  
"Oh, I'm sorry" Brittany said concerned  
"You have nothing to apologise for" Santana said grimacing a little as she shifted in the bed  
Brittany looked away a little ashamed "Yes I do, this is all my fault"  
"It isn't your fault My Lady, it was that man"  
She sighed and sat back in her chair "That man was sent by Abrams to attack me" Brittany explained  
Santana looked confused.  
"A couple of months ago King Abrams sent a party here saying they wanted me to marry the Kings son and merge our Kingdoms, I'd never met his son and had no interest in marrying him, how could I marry someone I didn't love? and my father certainly had no wish to merge our Kingdom with such an awful man" she seemed a little ashamed "They didn't take the refusal well…."  
Santana took Brittany's hand again "This is still not your fault, My Lady, This is King Abrams' fault"  
"Brittany… you can call me Brittany" she smiled

**Escort **  
I can understand why she chose me to escort them, well, me and Evans, I am one of the few people who know about them and how they feel about each other. Not that either of them have actually said it to me, but you can tell just by watching them. And of course there is the fact that one of them nearly died protecting the other, if that isn't devotion, I don't know what is. The princess was also worried about Santana's health, it hasn't been long since she was injured and the doctor doesn't want her doing anything strenuous.

So when the Princess came to me and asked if I would escort her and Santana to the fields outside the castle I was happy to do it and I knew that if I didn't they would go anyway.

Now here I am walking in the sun, following the Princess and one of my pupils. Sam walks next to me looking around, like the well trained guard that he is, but I find myself watching them more than our surroundings. Young love was such a lovely thing to see and seeing it between two of my favourite people was even better.

I have known the Princess since she was a baby and I had just joined the royal families household guard. I remember the joy the whole palace felt when she was born and she was such a happy child, but that started to change when the children of the nobles wouldn't play with her or would pick on her. I would watch helplessly as she would play on her own in the courtyard or the rose garden or even occasionally in the training yard, she always loved making sand castles. Then Santana Lopez, who knows why, maybe she was bored, asked the princess to play and that is when, it would appear, her life changed.

Now here I am years later watching two teenage girls awkwardly walk together in the fields. There are children running around chasing each other and elders walking together getting some air. But the pair stays near the top of the field close to the castle. There is a small incline in the fields the closer to the castle you get. From the top of the fields you get a lovely view of the surrounding countryside.

Sam and me stay a fair distance behind them, they seem nervous enough without us being too close. They seem to get on very well together, laughing and talking easily. I have to laugh slightly when one of their hands brushes the others and they both instinctively pull apart. I can see the Princesses cheek blush a little, but eventually their hands go back to their sides and they become comfortable again.

I can't hear what is being said but you can get an idea just by watching them, they stop occasionally and Brittany will point at something in the distance and Santana will move closer to explain what it is or listen to the princess.

When they stop so do Evans and me, we look around to assess if there is any danger, which there isn't, so we enjoy the scenery ourselves. Sam starts talking about coming here himself, but says the only person he'd want to come with is from another kingdom. It's not the first time he's mentioned this in the last couple of weeks since the tournament, I've figured out that he is besotted with his opponent from the Archery contest in which he came second and she won.

Many people like to walk in the fields, myself included, when Captain Menkins visits from Berry's Kingdom we often share some time together here, as Sam speaks of the same kingdom, my mind wanders to thoughts of the last time Menkins and me walked here, but I am quickly brought back to reality as the couple we are escorting move off again.

Soon enough though the Princess and Santana don't want an escort.

**Walk**  
It took them a few days and a few more visits to the fields to decide not to have anyone else escort them, they only really had an escort due to Santana's injury and now they wanted to be alone together and Brittany knew that Santana was well enough to protect her.

There was a light breeze in the air that would ripple through Brittany's light blue dress and make her hair fly.

As they walked in the fields alone their hands brushed again accidently, but instead of pulling away Santana took Brittany's hand in hers. Brittany looked down at their intertwined fingers and smiled.  
Santana looked at the long grass they were walking through pretending nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but her heart was racing. Since Brittany had kissed her some days ago in the hospital they hadn't kissed again and they hadn't held hands since then either, she was finding it quite thrilling.

As they walked she brushed her fingers against the top of the grass and flowers and leaned down slightly and picked a flower.

"My lady" Santana said turning to Brittany. Brittany stopped and Santana placed the flower in Brittany's hair.

Brittany smiled and blushed a little "Thank you" She said taking Santana's hand again and continuing walking for a while. When they had made their way further than they had done before Brittany suggested they sat down for a while.

"It's so beautiful out here, I wish I'd come here earlier" Brittany said looking around

"I used to play here all the time when I was younger" Santana said "but you never appreciate the beauty of a place when you are a child"

They were sat by a small clump of trees with birds chattering and flittering between branches. Brittany leaned back on her hands and looked up at them. Santana looked towards the birds but just ended up watching Brittany.

"I never understood why my father wouldn't let us play out in the fields, it's so nice just having the sun on your face and the wind in your hair" Brittany said closing her eyes feeling the sun and the wind on her skin.

She opened her eyes again with surprise at the feel of Santana's lips on hers, but closed them again to enjoy the surprise kiss. She bought her hand up to Santana's cheek and slowly leaned back until they were eventually laying down in the long grass. As they continued kissing Santana placed her hand on Brittany's side, slowly working it up her body until she realised what she was doing, she quickly removed her hand and her lips from Brittany. It was only the second time they had kissed and she shouldn't really put her hands in inappropriate places.

"Sorry…" Santana said quickly, blushing a little

But Brittany just took Santana's hand and replaced it, then reached up and replaced her lips as well.

**Report**

_Your Majesty,_

After a several months of fighting, I believe the battle is now on its way to being won. The enemy is being driven back to their border by a large force made up of your troops, the Tribes on our outskirts and a large contingent of Queen Berry's army. The Enemy has taken heavy losses and we believe their morale is low. There are rumours that the King is sending his son to help with this. But there is no doubt that the Abrams Kingdom will lose this war.

Your loyal servant and Captain of your Guard  
Santana Lopez


	4. Chapter 4 - Distance and Destiny

**Questioning **  
Brittany walked into one of her father's many rooms. A large fire was roaring in the fireplace and her father and mother were sitting together in front of it.

"You asked to see me father" She said

The king looked at her and stood "Yes, I'll cut to the chase, Brittany. I have heard rumours that you are consorting with one of the trainee guards, is this true?" he asked sternly putting his hands behind his back and walking to the window.

Brittany hated it when he was like this with her, treating her like one of his courtiers or servants. "Yes father"

"And you have been leaving the Castle with this trainee?"

"Yes Father"

"And you think this is appropriate?" he said turning towards her

Before Brittany could answer he spoke again "You will stop seeing her"

Brittany was shocked; he couldn't tell her to do that. "I will not" she said bravely. Her mother looked at her surprised. The king was rarely spoken to like that.

"You will." Her father shouted "she is not only a trainee guard, she is from the village"

"Why does that matter?" Brittany asked defensively

"Why? Because YOU are a Princess and the heir to the throne and you will marry royalty or nobility, not some villager" her father shouted.

"I will not marry anyone I do not love" Brittany held her ground

Her father laughed slightly "and you love this peasant?"

"I do love her, and she is not a peasant, she saved my life"

"That is her job" he shouted

"She makes me happy"

"My horses make me happy"

"And your wife does not?" Brittany thought she may have crossed the line as her father turned to look at her. "You picked your horses over mother" Brittany said before he could respond

"You dare question my love for your mother?" he shouted, getting red with anger

"No father, I don't, but you question mine for Santana, why am I more likely to love a royal or noble over her?" Brittany held her ground again, determine not to let him win.

"This is not up for discussion" he said after a moment

"No, it is not" Brittany stated. Before the king could continue she turned and walked out of the room.

**Intruder**  
Santana's temper flared when the door to her room swung open without so much as a knock on it. But it disappeared just as quickly when she saw Brittany quickly walk in. she began to greet her but became worried when she noticed her crying

"Brittany, what's wrong? What's happened?" she raced off her bed and threw her arms around the princess who sobbed into her shoulder.

They stood like that for a while; Santana running her hands up and down Brittany's back to sooth her, until she had to know why she was so upset.

"Brittany, tell me what's happened, who's upset you? I swear I'll …"

"NO" Brittany said quickly seeing that Santana was getting angry "You can't do anything.."

"I will, I'll.."

"It was my father"

"What?"

"He.. He said I had to stop seeing you, I refused and he shouted at me…."

"Oh.."

"I walked out and came here, I didn't know where else to go… he's so angry"

There was silence for a while, Santana hugged Brittany again while she took it in. The king wanted Brittany to stop seeing her.

"You refused the king, for me?" Santana asked

"Of course I did" Brittany sniffed looking at Santana "I…I love you"

Santana smiled "and I love you, I always have"

Brittany moved to sit on Santana's bed "really?"

She nodded looking into Brittany's red eyes "I remember I couldn't stop thinking about you after I saw you in that white dress when we were children, I'd never seen anyone like you before. My parents thought I was mad" Santana laughed a little at the memory.

"I joined the guards because of you, so that I could see you again, speak to you …..and protect you" Santana smiled, a little embarrassed. She moved and sat next to Brittany

"Well, that certainly worked out pretty well" Brittany smiled

"It did, better than I could have imagined" she put her arm around Brittany and she leaned against Santana's shoulder.

"Did you know I once ran away because of you?" Brittany asked

"No" Santana said surprised

"My father was angry then as well" Brittany said sadly "I managed to get hold of boys clothes from the laundry and snuck out of the castle to try to find you…..the guards got in so much trouble for that…..the day you asked me to play changed my life" she lifted her head and looked at Santana then leaned in and kissed her.

The kiss lasted a lot longer than any they had shared before and they ended up laying on Santana's bed. When the kiss eventually ended they laid on the bed and simply looked at each other for what felt like hours.

"You can stay here for as long as you want" Santana said lightly moving a strand of hair from Brittany's face

"Thank you"

They stayed where they were just talking for hours, later they ended up with Brittany laying on her side facing away from the door with Santana laying behind her with one hand under her pillow and the other draped over Brittany's body. As the bed was only a single this meant they were pressed close together. Brittany enjoyed the feeling, she could feel the warmth of Santana's body against her and she never wanted it to end. She fell asleep to the feeling of Santana's arm holding her closer.

They laid there like that for a while until Santana was woken from her semi-slumber by the sound of her door opening. She opened her eyes, pulled her hand out from under her pillow and span off the bed until she was standing next to it. She stood with her arm out stretched with a knife pointing at the intruder.

She kept the knife under her pillow for safety, but this was the first time she'd had to use it.

The intruder stopped in her tracks, but it took a second or two for Santana to realise who it was.

"You can put the knife down Ms Lopez" The Queen said, Santana didn't move

"Ms Lopez…."

Brittany started to wake when Santana moved off the bed, but the sound of her mother's voice made her roll over "Santana..?" She said seeing her pointing a knife at her mother.

"What do you want, my Lady?" Santana asked, she was worried the queen was just as angry with Brittany as the king.

Brittany raised from the bed and stood behind Santana "You can put the knife down now Santana" She said moving her hand down Santana's out stretched arm, as her hand moved down her arm Santana let it fall. Nothing was said for what seemed like minutes.

"I admire you wanting to protect my daughter Ms Lopez, but you don't need to protect her from me" The Queen said but Santana still stood between Brittany and her mother. "It took us a while to find you Brittany"

"Is father still angry?" Brittany asked speaking over Santana's shoulder and holding onto her arm still.

"Yes, you know how he is" Brittany nodded "But you should know, little one, that I do not share your fathers opinion in this matter"

Both Santana and Brittany looked shocked "Truly?" Brittany asked

"Yes, your father can only think of the crown in matters like this, not of the heart. He worries what the people will think of the heir to the throne being…. involved with a member of the guard. But I am not your father, I came from nobility, but I loved your father from the first time we met and I know that if I didn't love him I could never have been happy with him. It is important that you do what you believe is right and follow your heart" The queen explained.

She looked directly at Santana "You seem very important to my daughter Ms Lopez and because of that I would like to know you better. Please attend lunch with us tomorrow"

**Personal**  
"Are you alright, little one?"

"Mother, you shouldn't call me that, I'm the queen" Brittany said solemnly

"Don't be silly, you will always be my little one no matter how old you are or what position you hold" Her mother smiled from across the table.

"You miss Santana don't you?" Her sister asked between mouthfuls of biscuit

Brittany looked up from her plate sadly "Of course I miss her"

"I used to miss your father terribly too when he went away to fight, but she'll be home soon, dear"

"I know…..it's just that I haven't received any letters from her….. she's sent battle reports but…."

"Oh, honey" her mother said getting up and walking up to her and hugging her "At least you know she is well"

"Yes, I know" Brittany said sadly, she did know that Santana was okay, she had been sending weekly reports, but she wanted more, she wanted something personal.

Brittany and three of her aides stood around a large table with a map of her kingdom covering it. The map also showed where her lands had borders with the surrounding kingdoms. Placed on the large map were small figures of people and castles. Many of these pieces were different colours that represented the different troops from different kingdoms.

Her aides were showing Brittany the new troop movements and explaining what had been happening in the last few days. It had been nearly an hour of discussions when they were interrupted by a young servant at the door.

She bowed to Brittany "Majesty, I am sorry to interrupt, I was told to bring this to you immediately by the queen mother" She held out something for Brittany to take

"Thank you" Brittany said taking the item. The young girl bowed again and left the room.

Brittany saw it was a letter and immediately recognised the writing on the front

"Please excuse me gentlemen" she said to her aides, the men bowed, collected some papers and left the room.

Brittany quickly turned the letter over to see Santana's seal on the back, her heart raced. She opened the letter and unfolded it

_My Dearest Brittany_

I am sorry I haven't written to you sooner, the battles here are intense and it has been hard to find time to sit quietly.

You are in my thoughts always, even though we are miles apart. The thought of your smile or the touch of your hand has helped me through many hard times in the last few months.

Know that my heart aches without you, but also that I am safe and well and will return to your side triumphant soon.

All of my love  
Santana

Brittany read the letter over and over and held it to her chest. She longed for the day Santana returned.


	5. Chapter 5 - War and Destiny

**Rumour**  
I find I have to keep reminding myself why I am here. The last battle was the worst yet. You always imagine battles to be easy, clean, one opponent against another, the rules of war being adhered to. But so far I have seen little of any of those things. The fields we are fighting in are muddy and wet, at times your feet get stuck as you try to advance, the enemy comes at you from all directions at all times.

The only thing that makes me stay is the thought of Brittany. Not only my Queen but the woman I love. The Abrams' family tried to kill her 5 years ago and have been making the time since then more and more difficult, but as a loyal subject and devoted lover, I must stay here and defend her honour and I will do that with my life if I have to, especially against the Abrams'.

I believe now, that after 3 months, we are finally winning this war. With the help of the border tribes and troops from the Berry kingdom we finally have the advantage.

Sam told me that there are rumours about King Abrams sending his son to the front to give his troops a morale boost. If this is true I doubt it will have much of an effect on us, their troops numbers are getting fewer and fewer, one more person, whether his in the Prince or not will make little difference to us.

**Archer**  
It has been many years since the Royal Tournament that I competed against her and nearly two years since we last met up. But we have kept in contact over all of this time by letter. The letters have become a very important part of my life and I look forward to receiving one from her all the time.

This will be the first time I have seen her since we last met up. She is one of Queen Rachel's most skilled archers and has been sent here to help fight. The Abrams' seem to have caused the Berry Kingdom just as much trouble as ours.

When I see her she is as beautiful as I remember, as she enters the meeting tent her hair blows lightly in the wind, she is carrying her bow and has a quiver full of arrows on her back.

She looks quite angry until she sees me, then her face softens and she smiles, she has never looks more beautiful.

I am unable to talk to her for just over an hour, it was the first meeting between our troops and introductions had to be made. But when the meeting ended I made my way over to her.

"Hi" I said, not really knowing what to say

"Hello Sam, how are you?" she asked

"I am well, all the better for seeing you" I smiled

Outside the tent she looked around at all the people milling around "Do you know where I am staying? This camp is so big…."

"Yes, all of the Berry troops are over there" I pointed "come, I'll show you" I was surprised by her mood, she seemed to be acting like we hardly knew each other, none the less I happily walked her to her tent.

When we entered the tent a lot of her equipment and belongings were already in there.

"Wow, this is quite a tent" I said seeing how big it was compared to my own

"Being the queen's champion has its benefits" she said as she put her bow on the small table and took off her quiver and placed it next to her bow, she then moved and sat on her bed.

"Are you well? You seem a little…."

"I am sorry Sam, it has been a very long journey and I am tired" she said closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

I sat beside her and put my arm around her back, unexpectedly she leaned against me.

I plucked up the courage and said "Come, lay down with me and you can rest" I moved to lay down and she followed. We stayed like that until we both fell asleep.

**Lunch**  
Santana stood facing the large wooden door. She looked down at herself to make sure she looked presentable, with her free hand she brushed the front of her waist jacket to get rid of some fluff that had stuck to it. As a trainee of the guard when she wasn't training she had to wear her brown trousers, white shirt, leather waist coat and boots.

She ran her fingers through her hair "Okay" she said to herself "this is it"

She knocked on the wooden door and waited.

She didn't have to wait long as Brittany quickly opened the door into one of the queen's dining rooms. She had a huge grin on her face; it dropped slightly on seeing Santana

"You look so worried" she said "Don't be, I think mother likes you already"

Santana just smiled, she was a little too nervous even with Brittany saying that, after all she had pointed a knife at the queen only yesterday.

Brittany took her hand and they walked into the room together. It had a long table in the middle of it that was laid out with their lunch.

As they walked to the table the queen got up to greet her. Santana stopped and bowed to the queen "your majesty" she said, then turned to Brittany's younger sister who had joined them and bowed again "Princess"

"Hi" the princess said smiling.

Santana held out a small bunch of flowers and handed them to the young princess, then took another from the 3 she had and held them out for the queen and gave the last bunch to Brittany.

The young princess seemed more pleased than the others "oh, they're beautiful" she practically screamed

"I picked them for you all this morning"

"That was very nice of you, Ms Lopez" the queen said smelling the flowers "Please, sit" she pointed to the end of the table

The queen sat at the head of the table and Santana and the young princess sat either side of her, Brittany sat next to Santana.

"Tell me how you met my daughter, Ms Lopez" the queen asked after a couple of minutes.

They had all taken some bread, cheese and fruits from the middle of the table.

"We first met when we were nine your majesty"

"Nine?"

"Yes, I first saw Brittany riding through the village with the king" Santana explained

The queen seemed a little confused and thought for a moment "Do you mean to say that you are the young girl who asked Brittany to play in the village all those years ago? If I remember correctly that happened the same day as the visited to the church with the king"

"Yes, majesty I am"

"And how did you come to be training as a guard?"

"After seeing you daughter, I decided I would join the guard so that I could see her again, I then trained every day with my friend Sam and then when we were old enough to join the training program we did"

"That would have been a seven year wait?"

"Yes, majesty"

The queen shook her head in disbelief "My daughter obviously made an impression on you?"

"And she made one on me, mother" Brittany said secretly placing her hand on Santana's leg under the table

**Horizon**  
When I entered the campaign tent, Santana was standing leaning against the table covered by a map of the surrounding area and troop movements.

"Santana?"

She looked up slowly "Yes"

"The rumours were true; Prince Arthur is at the head of the approaching troops"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes; they are coming over the horizon"

"Fine, if they want to try this again we will crush them once and for all. Gather all the troops at the top of the hill; we are going to end this war today"


	6. Chapter 6 - Family and Destiny

**Picnic**  
"I'm too old for this" Emma complained as she sat down next to me on the grass

"I'm surprised it took you this long to give up" I laughed. I had been watching her chase the prince and princess around for at least twenty minute with no success.

"Well if they don't want the lunch I had prepared..." Emma said looking at the picnic

"Hey, you two" I shouted, both of the children stopped chasing each other nearly instantly "Me and Ms Pillsbury are going to eat all of this food as neither of you want it"

The children looked at each other and then at the food, then raced towards us trying to beat each other to the food.

Emma sighed "I don't know how you do that Shannon"

"I make grown men do what I tell them every day, children are pretty easy" I laughed

The young princess and prince fell to the grass in front of me and Emma and grabbed a sweet roll each and smiled happily at us.

**Protect**  
This had been the largest battle so far; it seemed the Prince's presence had spurred on King Abrams' forces.

The battle had started at least 4 hours ago and seemed to be near its end. Santana stood and looked around the battlefield, her armour was covered in other people's blood and her arms ached from fighting. The surrounding area was covered in the dead, dying or wounded from both sides, there were still a few of Abrams' men fighting, but many had now retreated due to the shear force and skill of the Queens armies.

As she stood in the silence of the battlefield she was suddenly distracted by a shout from behind her; she turned to see Sam at least a kilometre away running vaguely in her direction. She turned in the direction he seemed to be running and saw a woman on the ground with a man standing over her with a sword. A flash of blonde hair and Sam's reaction made Santana realise that the woman was Quinn.

The man above Quinn raised the sword above his head with both hands and Quinn raised a hand to protect herself. Santana was too far away from Quinn to run to her in time. Time seemed to slow as she looked around the ground around her; next to a body she found a bow and quiver of arrows,

Santana pulled the bow back as the man's sword was about to come down, Santana loosed the arrow as Sam entered her peripheral vision, the arrow pierced the man's lower back and he quickly fell to the ground as his legs went from under him. His sword fell dangerously close to Quinn's head as he fell on top of her.

Both Santana and Sam ran to Quinn, Santana kicked the body off her, to her surprise the body moaned as it rolled onto his back. Sam helped Quinn up and helped her walk away from the scene, but Santana stayed and looked at the man more closely, he was wearing an ornate helmet made of both silver and gold, which could only mean that he was prince Abrams, Santana removed the helmet and saw a much younger man than she was expecting. But she had no sympathy for him, he and his father had started this war; they had sent assassins to kill Brittany, they had invaded her lands.

She leaned close to his pain filled face

"Perhaps now you and your father will take no for an answer"

He screamed again in both pain and frustration, but Santana, turned and walked with Sam and Quinn back towards their camp still holding his helmet.

**Plead**  
"And there is no cure?" The Queen asked

"We are yet to find one, Majesty"

The hall was filled with beds of people from a few villages north of the castle. An illness had broken out a month ago and many people were bought to the capital and the castle specifically so that the royal physicians could try to help.

So far it didn't seem to be contracted by being around people who had the illness, so the queen and her consort visited every day or so to see how her subjects were.

The queen's doctor followed them around introducing the queen to the patients. Yesterday they were introduced to a young woman who had somehow managed to bring her two new born babies all the way to the castle with her. Yesterday she had been asleep and they didn't want to disturb her, but today she was awake.

When the queen came along the side of her bed she sat up slightly "Your Majesty" she said with a weak voice.

"Please don't exert yourself" Brittany said sitting on the side of her bed. Santana stood behind Brittany and looked at the babies laying in a basket asleep next to the bed.

"How are you feeling today" Brittany asked holding the ladies hand

"I am as well as yesterday, majesty" she said weakly

"That is good, get some more rest and I'm sure you will improve soon" Brittany said starting to get up, but the woman took hold of her arm.

"Please my queen… my children…" she started breathless

"Sugar, you should rest" the doctor said

She shook her head "Rest won't help… I know that…. But my beautiful children… they need to be taken care of….. when I'm gone…"

"Don't speak like that, you will be fine.."

"No…..Please my children….." Sugar pleaded

"Do not worry about your children, if anything happens to you, I will take care of them" Brittany assured her.

Sugar smiled and laid back down on her pillow and let go of Brittany's arm.

**Trophy**  
Brittany stood in front of the throne on the slightly elevated end of the Grand Hall watching as the returning troops entered. Leading them was Santana, her long blue cloak was blowing around slightly as she strode in and Brittany could see that the bottom of it was covered in dirt from the long journey back to the capital.

It had taken the best part of three hours from when the troops were first seen on the horizon to this moment and it was taking all of Brittany's will power not to run down the three steps in front of her and straight into Santana's arms. But she had to restrain herself and fulfil her duty as queen.

As it was, neither of them had taken their eyes off the other since the main doors of the hall had opened. Brittany had changed into Santana's favourite gown and had had her hair decorated with flowers especially for this moment.

As Santana reached Brittany, she smiled widely then bowed and the rest of the troops followed suit. Brittany bowed to them all in reply.

"Your Highness" Santana said as she stood and faced Brittany "We have returned to you with a trophy of our victory over the Abrams' kingdom"

Brittany hadn't noticed the helmet Santana was holding until she pulled it out from under her cloak. Santana stepped closer to Brittany and presented her with the gold and silver helmet she had taken from the Prince.

"We have also negotiated a treaty with King Abrams for a cessation of hostilities towards your Kingdom" Santana then handed Brittany a folded and sealed document

"Thank you Captain, I am pleased to welcome you all back" Brittany said to the hall "and I am even more pleased to welcome you back as victors"

A cheer rang out through the great hall.

"I do not enjoy violence or sending good people to an unknown fate, I also do not enjoy saber rattling or invasion by neighbouring kingdoms. But I am lucky enough to have the bravest and best trained troops of this divided island and allies who are as good as their word. To prove me right you return to me triumphantly."

Another loud cheer rang out

"To celebrate your triumphant return and to remember and thank those who did not return with you, a banquette will be held here tonight in your honour" if it was possible an even louder cheer ran out. Brittany smiled "Until then, please return to your families, tell them of your victory and of the banquette this evening"

**Care**  
"Brittany you can't, WE can't"

"I told her I would take care of her children and that's what I will do"

"But this….."

"What would you have me do? I gave her my word her children would be taken care of, they now have no parents. It was bad enough that their father died in the Border War without even seeing them and now their mother died of an unknown sickness. We can't leave them in an orphanage after I gave my word, what kind of Queen would that make me?"

There was silence for a while except for the sound of the two babies cooing.


End file.
